Trial postponed in Flint case as report finds that death toll could be much higher

[babylonsister]

Trial postponed in Flint case as report finds that death toll could be much higher
A new report argues more than 100 people may have died, but a trial targeting the state health department head has been postponed.
E.A. Crunden
Jul 26, 2018, 10:21 am


A new investigation by PBS Frontline has found that contaminated water in Flint, Michigan may have killed almost ten times the number of people as the official count currently indicates, through a rare form of pneumonia.

The news coincides with a delay in the trial against the head of the state’s health department to determine whether he is guilty of involuntary manslaughter and other felony charges relating to the water crisis.

A decision was initially expected to come Wednesday but instead District Court Judge David Goggins delayed issuing a decision in the case against Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Nick Lyon until August 20.

According to Michigan Radio, defense attorney John Bursch said that Goggins had asked both the prosecution and the defense to further address lingering questions in the case. “One thing he asked us to focus on specifically was the gross negligence aspect of the manslaughter charges,” Bursch said.

Lyon has held his position for several years and was head of the state’s health department in 2014 when Genesee County — where Flint is located — saw an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease, a rare and deadly form of pneumonia linked to fresh water sources. No public announcement was made about the outbreak until January 2016, by which point people were already sick.

more...

https://thinkprogress.org/flint-death-toll-water-crisis-24214fd12a81/

[gratuitous]

1. "Gross negligence" and "involuntary" manslaughter

Who could have possibly foreseen that people would die from Legionnaire's Disease? Why is everyone so stirred up that the people of Flint were drinking water for more than a year after public health officials knew it was contaminated? Government can't solve all your problems! You people just have this entitlement mentality. If you were good, freedom-loving Americans, you would have tested your water yourselves, instead of perpetuating your pathetic dependence on other people to take responsibility for poisoning you.

[gibraltar72]

2. Snyders bond scam turned deadly.

One candidate for Governor says they would ask AG to revisit his part in this. It is not a Republican.

[malaise]

3. K & R

Important